Berkeley Mayor Blasts Facebook

BERKELEY, CA — Add Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín to the growing list of public officials to go public with beef against Facebook.

Arreguín issued a statement Wednesday calling out Mark Zuckerberg’s social media behemoth for blocking a Berkeley nonprofit that promotes hate-crime awareness.

He alleges Facebook rejected a Berkeley-based nonprofit’s attempt to promote hate crime statistics on its page after it registered and followed the social media giant’s required steps.

And Arreguín announced plans to introduce a resolution condemning Facebook for doing so.

The company’s failure to enable important information that seeks to raise awareness about hate speech and hate crimes comes amid revelations that the social network has become a major platform for the proliferation of misinformation, polarization, and hate speech, Arreguín said in a statement.

“Facebook tuned its algorithm to promote hateful and divisive content and now it is censoring legitimate efforts to raise awareness and build inclusion around the impact of hate crimes,” Arreguín said.

“Social media has the power to connect and bring us together, but Facebook’s algorithms have had a poisonous and corrupting influence by intentionally over-representing and exposing billions of users to the worst that humanity has to offer. To benefit its bottom line, Facebook spiked the punch to breed more controversy. That brewed more hate and created the fertile ground upon which hate crimes in America have surged. While the company drowns out the voices of those who seek to raise awareness about the impact of hate in our communities, Facebook is giving a microphone to malicious organizers who promote destructive and chaotic events such as the violent protests in Berkeley, Charlottesville and the attack on the United States Capitol.

“This is a company that knows no shame.”

The Berkeley mayor attributes a 2017 incident in which far-right groups used Facebook to organize events featuring racist provocateurs that led to violence.

The incident led local activists Patrice O’Neil and Jacquelyn McCormick to start United Against Hate, which performs outreach and intervention in communities to promote understanding, healing, reconciliation and redemption centered around its annual “United Against Hate Week,” which has since grown to a national movement.

The non-profit, United Against Hate, had attempted to promote awareness through a campaign on Facebook, but the company rejected the ads and the non-profit’s appeals, stating that it violated their advertising policies on social issues, Arreguín said.

The Berkeley mayor’s statement included a copy of the proposed ad and Facebook’s rejection note.

Arreguín’s resolution condemning the social media giant will be voted on at the Nov. 16 Berkeley City Council meeting.